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Tuesday, October 4, 2016

Saints. Artists. Mystics. Scholars.

Saints. Artists. Mystics. Scholars.

Bishop Robert Barron's CATHOLICISMseries, an epic ten part documentary, took people around the world and deep into the Catholic Faith. The series aired on PBS and has been seen by millions.
But there is still more of the story to tell.
Bishop Barron is on a new journey to unlock the truth behind the Catholic Church's most influential people. CATHOLICISM: The Pivotal Players
is a multi-part film series that illumines a handful of saints,
artists, mystics, and scholars who not only shaped the life of the
Church but changed the course of civilization.

ST. FRANCIS

The Reformer
Rebuild my Church! That’s the mission Christ gave to St. Francis and
it’s the perennial task of the Church in every age of its life. But how
is the reform and renewal of the Church to be accomplished? The life
of St. Francis demonstrates that Christ intends the foundations of true
and lasting reform to be built on the solid rock that is the radical
witness of the saints.

ST. THOMAS AQUINASThe Theologian
The relationship of faith and reason is under intense scrutiny in an
age beholden to the competing claims of fundamentalism and secularism.
So called “new atheists” insist that the claims of religion amount to
mere superstition, a retrograde holdover from a time long ago. Others
insist that the life of faith is a retreat into emotions and
subjectivism. St. Thomas Aquinas anticipated these objections and trends
and demonstrated that to believe is to think and that the life of the
mind is integral to life in Christ.

BL. JOHN HENRY NEWMANThe Convert
Is there any truth in matters of religion? Should the Church simply
retreat in the face of the challenges of culture? John Henry Newman came
into the Church as a convert and used his prodigious intellectual
gifts to help the Church better understand its identity and mission and
engage the challenges of a secular age.

ST. CATHERINE of SIENAThe Mystic
Is the physical world all there is? Is science the only path to
ascertaining truth? St. Catherine of Siena witnesses to a higher world
beyond the material. Though the fourteenth century mystic never studied
theology, and never learned how to read or write, her life constitutes a
powerful challenge to the flattened-out secularism of our time.

G.K. CHESTERTONThe Evangelist
How does one engage a culture that is befuddled by Christ and
suspicious of the Church? The life and witness of this nineteenth
century literary convert shows that the fundamental disposition of
effective evangelization is joy, and life in Christ is a day-to-day
encounter with an abundant and surprising offer of grace.

MICHELANGELOThe Artist
The master of sculpture and painting is not a saint but serves as the
privileged representative of the creative potential engendered by the
Catholic Faith. The Church professes that beauty is a route of access
to God, and through humanity’s creative artistry we glimpse the power
and glory of the Lord.

(Release date to be determined...)

ST. IRENAEUSThe Martyr
The idea that the revelation of Christ is merely a myth constructed
to conform to our own aspirations and ideologies is not just a
predicament of the modern age. This second century bishop and martyr
insisted that the Christ revealed by the Gospel and witnessed to by the
Apostles is far more compelling and interesting than the offerings of
the counterfeit spiritualities of his or our own time.

ST. AUGUSTINEThe Teacher
Perhaps the premier example of how faith in Christ changed a person
is the fourth century bishop, Saint Augustine. Augustine’s narrative of
personal transformation provides a template for life in Christ that
still captivates today. In an age when people insist upon sharp
demarcations between spirituality and religion, or between Christ and
the Church, St. Augustine provides a unifying way forward. We do not have to choose one or the other, but are chosen by Christ for his Church.

ST. BENEDICTThe Monk
In a world darkened by the fading light of classical culture, St.
Benedict cast a greater light—Jesus Christ. His insistence that the
Gospel should be embodied in communities of friendship and peace, guided
by the sacrifices of poverty, chastity, and obedience, became a new
cultural matrix and unleashed a vigorous spiritual dynamism from which a
new civilization would emerge.

ST. IGNATIUSThe Founder
Christ demands a decision—will we serve him or some other master? The
saints demonstrate the abundant life that emerges when the soul serves
Christ in communion with his Church. St. Ignatius’ decision to give his
life over to Christ without reservation gave rise to a movement that
would not only transform lives, but also change the world.

BARTOLOMÉ DE LAS CASASThe Activist
From where does the cultural regard for human rights emerge? What
informs the Church’s teaching concerning dignity of the human person?
What is the appropriate rapport between the missionary activities of the
Church and global cultures? The sixteenth century Dominican priest
Bartolomé de Las Casas represents how the Church has engaged the culture
as the advocate for the least among us and provided a social theory
that accepts as foundational the inherent dignity of the human person.